A construction CFO for trade contractors anywhere in the U.S. Know which jobs make money, where your cash is headed, and what to decide next.
Not ready to talk? See what we found for other contractors →
If you have asked this question at the end of a year where you worked harder than ever before — you are in exactly the right place.
Usually the answer is not one bad job. In our featured HVAC case it was equipment price lists that had not kept up with distributor increases: invisible on a blended profit and loss statement, obvious once the books were split by service line.
See Where the Money Was Hiding →An HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) contractor in the Tampa Bay area brought in $125,000 more in sales than the same period a year earlier. Profit did not move.
Departmentalized statements split the books by service line. Gross margin on installation (change-out) work had dropped about 5.5 points, and equipment cost was the cause: most of the company's equipment price lists had not been updated through a year of distributor price increases.
The company was selling at last year's prices with this year's costs. A blended, company-wide profit and loss statement could not show it.
Every engagement is led by Will Abberger, a former construction CFO and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He is not a bookkeeper who picked up contractors as a niche. He has run the finance and the operations side of trade companies, and he reads your numbers the way an owner has to: which jobs pay, where cash is going, and what to decide next.
"I am probably the most overqualified bookkeeper in Florida. That is entirely the point."
Email or call to request a free Bottom Line Blueprint Session. We review your actual numbers with you, live, and name the top three issues we see. You keep the written summary either way.
Fractional CFO, bookkeeping, or both. Scope, cadence and monthly fee are in writing before any work starts.
Job margins you can act on, a rolling 13-week cash forecast, Work in Progress (WIP) reporting your surety trusts, and a monthly review that ends with a decision.
Prefer to read first? Financial Intel has straight answers to the questions contractors ask most.
Published monthly ranges, confirmed in a written proposal. Fractional CFO engagements are remote and available anywhere in the U.S. Bookkeeping serves contractors nationwide, with in-person service across Tampa Bay. All of it is built on Will's 40 years of construction and trades executive experience.
Each trade has unique financial challenges — and each uses different software. QuickBooks Online, ServiceTitan, Buildertrend, AccuLynx, Jobber, Procore. Will knows how they all connect to your books.
Real recoveries from real trade contractors, with the specific finding that made each one visible.
Sales up $125,000 over the same period a year earlier. Profit flat. Departmentalized books showed installation margin down about 5.5 points because most equipment price lists were out of date.
A general contractor had three active commercial projects with retainage held by the owner and no tracking system. Two had retainage aging past 90 days with no collection process. A tracking schedule and collection process brought all of it in within 45 days.
A pool contractor couldn't understand why two nearly identical projects produced different profit results. Job-level cost analysis revealed an inconsistency in material markup on one project type.
Organized around how you actually think about your finances — not around accounting topics.
The most common question Will hears from growing contractors — and the one with the most financially damaging answer if left unaddressed.
The job looked profitable on the bid. The work went smoothly. The invoice got paid. So why did the margin disappear? Job costing answers this every time.
Cash forecasting, WIP and bonding, margins and growth strategy for $5M–$50M contractors, typically $6,000–$12,000 a month.
Fractional CFO engagements are remote and open to trade contractors anywhere in the United States. We currently serve a client in France, so distance is not the limit. Bookkeeping clients get the same remote service nationwide, plus in-person meetings across Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties from our St. Petersburg base.
An annual report on the financial health of Florida trade contractors, built from Will's client data and research. Ask to be notified when the first edition publishes.
We provide fractional CFO leadership and weekly construction bookkeeping to trade contractors: cash forecasting, job costing, Work in Progress (WIP) schedules, and the monthly financial direction that turns those reports into decisions. Every engagement is led by Will Abberger, a former construction CFO and COO, Dartmouth Tuck MBA and IRS Enrolled Agent.
HVAC, roofing, pool, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, general and specialty trade contractors. Bookkeeping clients are typically $500,000 to $5 million in revenue; fractional CFO clients typically $5 million to $50 million.
Fractional CFO work is remote and available to trade contractors anywhere in the United States; we currently serve a client in France. Bookkeeping is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, with in-person meetings across Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties and remote service nationwide.
Fractional CFO engagements typically run $6,000 to $12,000 a month. Construction bookkeeping runs about $1,000 to $3,500 a month depending on size. The first step, a Bottom Line Blueprint Session, is free; request one by email or phone.
No. We do not prepare tax returns. We keep your books clean and CPA-ready and work alongside your CPA. Will is an IRS Enrolled Agent, so he can represent you directly before the IRS if needed.
Request a free Bottom Line Blueprint Session. We review your actual numbers with you and tell you plainly what they show, and whether you need a fractional CFO, bookkeeping, or neither yet.
Request a session by email or phone
Tell us your trade, approximate annual revenue, where you are, and whether you are looking at fractional CFO, bookkeeping or both. We will reply to set a time.
or call (727) 638-3708
will@thecontractorsbookkeeperllc.com